24. Demons Fear the Sign of the Cross and Flee From It

Once the venerable Seraphim said: “The temptations of the devil are like a cobweb; one need only blow on it and it is destroyed—so, too, against the enemy the devil one need only make the sign of the cross, and all his wiles vanish completely” (“Life of Elder Seraphim,” p. 150). Is this true? Once several men brought with the greatest effort to that same venerable elder a demon-possessed woman who had been raging the whole way; she then fell and, throwing her head backward, cried out: “He will burn, he will burn!” Father Seraphim came out of his cell and, since the woman would not open her mouth, he forcibly poured a few drops of holy water into it. Everyone saw that at that very instant something like a smoky cloud flew out of her mouth. When the elder then made the sign of the cross over her and with his blessing offered a holy prayer over her, the possessed woman came to herself, began to pray on her own, and no longer felt her former affliction (“Life of Elder Seraphim,” p. 174).

More on the sign of the cross. Once the venerable Anthony the Great, contending with demons, said: “If you can do anything to me, do it; if you cannot, why labor in vain? The sign of the cross and faith in God are for me an impregnable wall.” The same holy father once taught the brothers thus: “When demons are unable to trouble our thoughts, they tempt and frighten us with visions—but all of them vanish at the first sign of the cross” (Rozisk, Part 2, fols. 182-183). Once the martyr Cyprian asked a demon: “By what weapon are you restrained and what weakens your power?” The demon answered: “We cannot look upon the sign of the cross but flee from it; like fire, it scorches us and drives us far away” (fol. 182). And Saint Cyril of Jerusalem says: “The sign of the cross is a sign for the faithful and a terror to evil spirits” (Catechetical Lecture XIII, 36).

Thus the venerable Seraphim spoke the truth: against the enemy the devil one need only make the sign of the cross, and all his wiles vanish. From this, of course, follows the conclusion that we ought to sign ourselves with the cross as often as possible and with reverence, as with a saving and most effective weapon against the inner corrupting serpent, and with fervent prayer that the Lord would help us appear as victors over it. And such prayer is extremely necessary for us, for the devil, in the Savior’s word, was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44); he, according to the Apostle, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8); he strikes a person with illnesses and calamities, as he once tempted Job; he suggests thoughts and desires contrary to God and, finally, as we have just heard, rages even in human bodies. How then can one do without higher help? How can one fail to ask the Lord to encamp guardian angels around us? How can one fail to ask Him to give us the strength to boldly repel the attacks of the dark powers upon us? Yes, prayer for higher help is here absolutely and supremely necessary, and therefore, as often as possible, let us apply ourselves to it. Amen.